When You Left
by BluWine
Summary: Sequel to 'If Only You Loved Me' A year later, Anakin and Padmè are weaving into each other intricate lies to hide their marriage, but like all unfinished weaves, one tug at a forgotten end and all their deceit will be revealed.
1. Tangled Lies

**Disclaimer: **All characters belong to George Lucas, But Khariya is all mine so every one back off! I make no money of this so don't sue and all this is for the bored girl with two months of nothing to do.

**Notes: **Sequel to '_If Only You Loved Me_' Seriously. Read it first... You wouldn't understand a bit of this. AND... I'm forever marking this AU. VERY AU. I mean Jedi are celibate in my fictional little world. I _know_ GL said they weren't but his whole spiel on how they're not celibate; allowed to have sex but aren't allowed to attach isn't very Jedi to me. I don't know! Yoda does _not_ have one night stands, damn it! So please deal? It is just a story though I go against canon in more than a few ways... Meh, I never liked canon anyways. LOL

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

"Anakin, this is a serious transgression," Mace chastised the alleged Chosen One. "One that the Council CAN overlook but since you've had so many in the past, we don't know anymore..." Anakin's eyes rolled, in agitation... In his head, mind you. He's not so stupid as to actually roll his eyes at the great Master Windu.

"I see no real importance in what is already done and have I the ability to change it, I wouldn't," Anakin Skywalker replied. "With all due respect, I believe that these rules for the Jedi to live by are older than Master Yoda himself!"

"Just because it is a rule old enough to be your grandfather a hundred generations over does not mean you can just break it," Obi Wan Kenobi snapped at his former Padawan. It had been a year since the great battle in Geonosis and Anakin had received his full Jedi status recently but it seemed like, to Obi Wan, that he was still a child.

"Relations to Senator, most inappropriate," Yoda interrupted, ignoring Anakin's comment about his age and Obi Wan's affirmation of it. "Such things, a Jedi should NOT be doing! It is neither safe nor promoted."

"Padmè and I..."

"SENATOR AMIDALA..."

"Fine! Senator Amidala and I were just... talking."

"More like fraternizing at the local bar," Obi Wan sneered.

"We were not at a bar. We were at a decent restaurant and I have no inappropriate relations with the Senator," Anakin declared. "I had several faulty decisions in my past but I am a full-fledged Jedi now and I would never jeopardize that no matter what."

Anakin looked at Obi Wan in the eye. 'And I'd never do that to Khariya,' he thought feeling Obi Wan read it.

"I know," Obi Wan sighed, looking away.

Anakin had told Obi Wan about Khariya and their relationship before she... Obi Wan was disapproving, of course, but what could be done now that she was... At least, he had kept the story between them. Both had a feeling that Yoda knew but he knew everything so it wasn't made out to be such a scandal. And since the relationship was over, there was no point in doing anything anymore now that Khariya was...

... Gone.

The thought still twisted Anakin's insides but he was coping better than before and he couldn't think about that now. He had to still defend his position.

Obener, Padmè's old bodyguard, had seen them at a restaurant 'canoodling', was the man's words. He reported it to Obi Wan, who in return reported it to the Council. Now, here was Anakin being chastised for having friends especially a politician friend.

"It is true there is a code against marriage for all Jedi knights…" Anakin started.

"No, there is a code against attachment," Plo Koon interceded. "Anakin, you know this. You know that such emotional attachments can only end badly in the positions that a Jedi Knight puts himself in especially in these darker times."

"A fine point,"Anakin replied trying to keep his frustration from his voice. "But please understand that I do not have the conventional upbringing of a Jedi. I NEED my friends to keep me sane and that is all Senator Amidala is to me: a friend," Anakin said.

Mace still looked unenthusiastic about the Chosen One's choice of friends or the fact that he had any but he looked at him in defeat. "We shall let this go, if only by technicality that you are not disobeying our way of life. We have the highest regard for Senator Amidala. Do not mistake that. We think very highly of her character but when the fondness between the two of you becomes more than what is tolerable... We just remind you that your relationship with Senator Amidala is discouraged and looked down upon."

Anakin nodded.

"You may leave."

Anakin turned to leave and, at the safety beyond the doors, he breathed a sigh of relief. Padmè was right when she said that this life of lies would grow tiresome, but, at least, Anakin had been forewarned and was ready to take on those lies. He just wished that he didn't have to use Khariya in his lies as he just did with Obi Wan.

Not Khariya... her memory still lay fresh in his mind. Everything from her smile, her insecurities, her taste, and her charm had its own section in his mind... He never wanted to tarnish that memory but every time he had to use her in a lie... He could see her memories, a stainless white dress and, with every lie, a drop of red wine would dribble down the fabric, scarring it forever. He tore his mind away from those thoughts and went into his speeder, racing to a familiar apartment. Upstairs, someone was waiting for Anakin, impatiently, and when he stepped in, she threw her arms around him.

"Are we safe?" Padmè asked.

"As we'll ever be," Anakin answered leaning down to kiss his wife. His hand went down to her belly and felt a lopsided grin fall onto his face. "How's my baby?"


	2. Reluctant Silence

**Chapter 02:**

It was devastating to be sure, Obi Wan thought. To lose what you loved most... BOTH of the women you loved most in life in the span of a week... Most men would crumble into pieces. Most would even die along with them but Anakin didn't and Obi Wan was at least proud of his former Padawan of that success.

Immediately after Khariya's death, Anakin had confessed of their EXTREMELY brief love affair on Naboo. He had explained that the love he had for Khariya would never die, for as so long as he lived in this universe. It seemed ironic that the man who committed these, by Jedi Law, 'sins' was the one who gave his mentor an ultimatum.

_"... I won't forget her, master," Anakin admitted. "I don't even want to try to erase her from my memory. Obviously, nothing can come from it now so I don't see the point."_

_Both men were standing at the foot of the freshly dug grave of Danè Khariya Naberrie. The grave was empty of a body though and buried under the earth was a casket filled with some objects of sentimental value that died along with the beloved woman. The rest of the visitors were leaving. Padmè was at her carriage, wanting some time alone as she headed back to the docks to take a short trip to the lake house. Just Obi Wan and Anakin remained in the contradicting weather of blue skies and sunlight to their dark moods._

_"And you expect me to say what exactly?"_

_"I don't expect you to say anything, Master," Anakin replied, coolly. "Not to offend, but once I realized my love for Khariya, my apprenticeship took a passenger seat in my priorities. She's gone now and I don't have any other choices. I'd like to stay with you as your apprentice, Obi Wan but only if you promise not to make me forget Khariya..."_

_"I can't make you forget someone either way, Anakin..."_

_"But you'll try..." Obi Wan looked almost offended at this. "Don't look so insulted when you know I speak the truth. All I ask is that you leave this part of my past behind. Don't revive it for the sake of arguments and don't ever use it against me."_

_"Would you have given up your apprenticeship had she not been taken from you, Padawan?" Obi Wan asked, seriously after a moment of thought._

_"I really don't know, master." Anakin's face was blank as he stared at the dirt, a dark brown against the lush grass surrounding it... It was a stark contrast to the the grave he had to dig himself only days before. "What Khariya taught me was that all humans are subject to basest of emotions... I experienced that with her even for the briefest moment in time and I'll never know to what extent those emotions... that passion could have led me to."_

_"I can see it in your eyes... You would have given everything up for this woman..." Obi Wan announced._

_"We'll never know now, now will we, Master?" Anakin snapped bitterly. "Just leave it be, Master. It's all I ask. Promise that you'll keep this secret as it is. There is no point in punishing me further when Fate is punishing me enough as it is!"_

_"Alright... Alright... By the Force, you have my oath, Anakin Skywalker," Obi Wan solemnly swore. Anakin nodded in satisfaction._

_"Thank you, Master," Anakin said gratefully. _

_  
_  
Now as Obi Wan thought about it with hindsight... He wished with all his heart that he hasn't made that promise. He wanted counsel from the elders yet his oath held him silent. He wanted to know from Yoda himself what that love affair might have amounted to.

Would it have changed the course of the future?

Is the Chosen One the same person as he was before?

Did an innocent young woman have to die, must she really have been denied the children she would have born, the achievements she might have accomplished and the love she could have given and received for destiny to be properly fulfilled?

There were so many questions in his mind. So many things could possibly be answered if he had the power to ask... but his oath kept him silent.


	3. Hesitation

Chapter 03:

Almost a year... That was all Anakin's mind had been repeating in the last hour he had been staring at the ceiling of the apartment he secretly shared with Padmè. He was on the bed staring up into space. He was suppose to be getting ready. One of the more annoying duties he was assigned was to watch over the docks. There had been some recent thefts ranging from a few crates of fruits to a small but invaluable box of the purest diamonds from Yatalpas. The port merchants asked for assistance and the council felt compelled to acquiece. Anakin, since he was the newest Jedi, ended up shouldering the obligation.

Almost a year... If he thought about it, he knew that exactly a year ago he was getting off the Nubian spacecraft that carried him to Naboo. His eyes closed and he could remember stepping off the plane. It was one of his solitary missions that led to his Knighthood Trials. He remembered breathing in the fresh spring-like air of the humid planet, basking in its sun for the first time in ten years. He remembered the girl standing in the distance that seemed familiar but didn't strike a particular chord within him. His eyes were scanning the area for possible unwanted intrusions. He didn't find any that day. He stepped away and the Nubian senator, Padmè Amidala Naberrie emerged from her protective mark behind him. The girl he noticed earlier immediately ran forward.

Anakin's mind fast forwarded to an hour later when he felt Khariya underneath him. She had become the beautiful young woman that Padmè had always been. He smirked at the thought that maybe the Senator's younger sister was a late bloomer, so to speak, but his smile faded. Oh Maker, if he knew how much she would mean to him in the space of days... If he knew that in that same amount of time, she would be taken from him... He wouldn't have wasted a second of her presence... He shifted in his position when his imagination stirred a fraction of emotions and physical responses Khariya managed to get out of him.

"... Anakin, are you leaving soon?" Padmè asked stepping into their bedroom. Anakin snapped up into sitting position, grabbing a pillow to hide the reponses his imagination was reaping from him. Padmè could see the slight moisture pooling at his brow and she frowned. "What is it? You look a little pale... Is something wrong?"

"Nothing... Nothing at all.. I was just... I'm a little tired," Anakin stammered. He then cleared his throat, regaining the composure he prided himself in. "I don't really want to pull the guard shift today."

"Well, with the privileges you're now given as Jedi, I guess a few obligations would come from it," Padmè shrugged stepping up to her husband. She stood in between his knees and put her arms around his neck. Anakin just sighed and buried his face in her stomach when she leaned into him, her hands feeling down his bare back. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine," Anakin muttered. His mind was still racing with pictures of another woman even as he held his wife to him. His guilt was beginning to eat away at him so he retreated so that Padmè could lean in and he could kiss her the way he always did.

Padmè wasn't stupid, of course. The kisses he always marked her with... The most powerful ones she could never forget. Somehow, someway she knew it had to do with Khariya. It was as if all his kisses were apologetic... Asking for forgiveness for the wrongs he committed inside his mind. At first she was a bit hesitant with this realization. As time passed however, Padmè learned to accept it. Whatever happened between her sister and her now-husband could never be erased but it could never be realized either. She just returned his kisses with her own and forgave him.

"You better go..." Padmè sighed. She stepped back from his arms and smiled, sadly. He nodded, silently and slipped on his tunic and taking her hand as he walked to the door. "What time are you returning?"

"In a few hours... Probably eight," Anakin answered, his fingers trailing down her cheeks. "I'll come straight home after the report to the Council."

Padmè nodded and gave a subtle wave as he took his coat from the door to leave. "I love you," she whispered, tiptoeing up to kiss him quickly on the cheek.

"... Love you too," he replied and he left. Did it even occur to them that Anakin's hesitation, breaking their words in two, had become accepted and normal?


	4. Edge of Insanity

Chapter 4:

Anakin strode out onto the streets of the trading district of Coruscant. He REALLY didn't want to be there but with the excitement and adventurous missions of being a Jedi Knight, also came the boring factors... like watching a fish trader unload his ship. The smell was disgusting. The sight of it was making his skin crawl. At the corner of his eye though he saw a familiar face.

"... Come on, Limen! Maneuver to the right!" a voice ordered over the chaos of one of Coruscant's busiest spaceports. Anakin turned to the source of the voice knowing that he'd heard it somewhere before. "A little more!" Anakin's eyes focused on a tall, sun-burnt man trafficking a fork lift across the bay. He watched as the man finished his task and started towards him only to stop some fifty meters away.

At first, the trader didn't notice the watchful eye of the Jedi on his back but as he started work on another bch of shipments, he started to realize that Anakin was watching him a LITTLE too closely. He himself began to wonder, however, why this Jedi's face was a little bit recognizable. Even as his eyes scanned the inventory papers of the crates before him, his mind was trying to course through his memories. Finally, as he remembered an appointment he had a week before, his mind clicked and zoomed to a brief incident on Naboo almost a year ago. Anakin saw the trader's head pop up as if remembering something important and saw his eyes latch onto him. Anakin's weight shifted on his feet as the trader walked towards him, a smug smile gracing his face.

"Can I help you?" Anakin said, acknowledging the trader's presence.

"Anakin Skywalker, aren't you?" the man grinned.

"Yes... who are you?" Anakin frowned.

"Marco Alteri..." The name suddenly made everything in Anakin's mind click...

Of course! Marco Alteri... Spican trader... Khariya was flirting with him that day that I realized I loved her, Anakin thought in that bittersweet tone.

"... I don't think you know me but I'm an acquaintance of Khariya... aren't the two of you umm...?" Marco blushed slightly though he gave Anakin a suggestive wink.

"Yes... we WERE, at least..." Anakin muttered.

"How's she doing, by the way? Last I saw her, she wouldn't tell me where she was staying, but now that I know that you're here on Coruscant, I'm guessing she's with you?" Marco asked casually. Anakin stood silent for a moment, dreading the situations such as these.

"She... Ummm.. Actually... Don't you know?" Marco's brows frowned with worry.

"No... What is it?"

"She's..." Anakin took a deep breath, preparing himself to say the words he ALWAYS avoided. "Khariya's dead." Marco paled, taking a step back in shock.

"Wh... What? But... when?"

"A year ago..." Marco stepped back again, his eyes creasing further. "I'm sorry."'

"A year ago?" Marco repeated. He then shook his head. "Khariya Naberrie? Are you sure?"

"How could I NOT be sure?!" Anakin snapped, a bit insulted.

"Well... I met with Khariya last week... Right here on Coruscant," Marco explained. "At Dex's Diner. I saw her here actually. She said she just arrived from Naboo but since her lodgings wouldn't be ready for another two hours we went to lunch..."

"You must be talking about a different girl," Anakin said angrily. "Khariya's been gone for almost a year now. I was at her FUNERAL... She died in the hands of a Geonosian at the start of the war."

"I... I don't know what to say, Anakin, but I DID meet with a girl last week. If it wasn't Khariya then there must be someone walking around Coruscant RIGHT NOW who looks exactly like her, has all her identification under Danè Khariya Naberrie, talks likes her and acts exactly as she did," Marco replied. Anakin tried to look into his mind, to see if this trader was mocking him or lying to him at all, but all he felt was confusion.

"It's impossible..." Anakin's eyes shut trying to block out the ramblings and rantings his mind was making.

_They never found a body... They never saw her again... She might still be alive!_

Shut up! It's not true! She can't be! I've tried to feel her but she's not here, there or any...

Ani...  
  
Anakin's eyes shot open. That voice was foreign. It wasn't from his mind. It was more of a memory than a thought but it felt... strange.

_Anakin..._

Marco was looking at him strangely but Anakin, for the life of him, couldn't focus on the concerned questions coming out of the man's mouth. He was too busy looking around the hangar because now, the strange feeling had become all too clear.

He could feel her. Khariya's presence was too deeply instilled in him not to recognize even when he felt it for the slightest of seconds. Her voice was in his head, much like the last time they had some sort of telepathic conversation the last time Marco Alteri was around.

"Anakin... Anakin, you've gone pale. Are you all right?"

Anakin kept right on ignoring him. The Jedi was turning around in circles, his head angled towards the upper levels, wondering if she was up there looking down at him but the next sensation made him freeze, daze and close his eyes again.

He felt it like it was real. As if Khariya's hand was really against his cheek. The warmth as if she was still alive and touching him and his face leaned towards it. In the smallest corner of his mind, he wondered what he must have looked like to any outsiders watching him but he didn't really care. All he knew was that the presence he's missed and longed for for almost twelve months... It was there again. His lips felt a tingle and Anakin thought that Khariya had given him a soft kiss...

_Anakin...want another distraction?_ The kiss felt like it was getting stronger then...

It was gone. Anakin's fists clenched and he whirled around trying to bring it back but any sense of Khariya was gone but he felt it. His heart was on a rampage, beating faster and faster. He KNEW that it wasn't a hallucination. It wasn't the wistful thinking he had suffered a few weeks after her death. This time it was real.

For the sake of his sanity, he PRAYED that this time was real.


	5. Planning Mind Games

**Chapter 05:**

"I have to go," Anakin murmured. His face stony, he walked out of the port, hurriedly. He had to get to the temple. He had to talk to Obi Wan. The feeling was too real. The presence was so near his mind that it unnerved him. Anakin was unused to being so umcomfortable. He prided himself in being able to control everything. All that surrounded him was put in its place by his own power and it was the way he had wanted it. When he felt Khariya in the air right then, he couldn't help but let things unravel and slip from his fingers. All he wanted to do was let everything go and to follow that presence. He hated that feeling that he couldn't control.

"Anakin! I distinctly remember teaching you to knock!" Obi Wan said, annoyed. He looked up from his construction of a new light saber and saw the distressed look in Anakin's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I... I felt her," Anakin stumbled, walking into the dormitory and holding his head in his hands as he sat on the bed.

"What?" Obi Wan put down the welder and turned his chair to face Anakin.

"Khariya..." Anakin murmured.

Obi Wan froze and was taken aback. This was the first time since Khariya's funeral that he was aware of Anakin openly talking about her. Her name, he thought, was the last thing he expected to trouble them again.

"Khariya? You felt Khariya?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes!" Anakin replied, standing up and beginning to pace.

"Where?"

"At the ports... I... Do you remember Marco Alteri?"

"Vaguely... A merchant... successful but honest so he's not entirely too rich from Spica?"

"I saw him today... He was at the ports..."

"All right? And this means what exactly?"

Anakin halted and looked at Obi Wan, still shaking slightly. "He said he met with Khariya last week..." Obi Wan pursed his lips and sat back, frowning.

"He must have been lying..."

"Obi Wan, he WASN'T lying! You might not think so much of my ability to control my powers but know that I can tell when a person lies to me!" Anakin snapped.

"Khariya is DEAD, Anakin! She couldn't possibly have met with Alteri last week!"

"You don't know if she's dead..." Obi Wan sensed that Anakin's emotions were heightening and taking control of the young man's words and actions.

"Anakin..." he said softly. "You sensed the whole galaxy yourself... You almost killed yourself in that effort! You found her nowhere. How could she have done that?"

"I... I don't know..." Anakin collapsed into another chair. "All I know is that I _did_ feel her, Obi Wan. She spoke to me... She even kissed me... She was there." Obi Wan took his chair and pulled it in front of Anakin.

"Have you even thought that maybe you imagined it?" Anakin shook his head, not in answer but in stubborn denial that he didn't imagine Khariya's presence. "Didn't you say that seeing Khariya flirt with Alteri was what made you realize you loved her?"

"Yes..." he murmured.

"Isn't it at all possible that maybe you could have conjured up the memory of Khariya's presence because of Alteri's?" Obi Wan said rationally.

"No..." Anakin whispered. "She was there... She HAD to have been there..."

* * *

"You know, this plan of yours is working marvelously, Chancellor," Khariya murmured, sitting comfortably in a swiveling chair, examining her long nails. She turned the chair around and smiled at Dooku who was sitting at another chair, stiffly and frowning at the girl who seemed to be much too casual to be joining in this war effort.

"Of course, it is, my dear," the old man murmured, putting a hand on her shoulder and smiling at his kind of protégé. "And your work this afternoon on Anakin worked wonders, as well." Khariya grinned back, proud to have satisfied the man she had come to know like a father.

"Will I be doing anymore like today's plans?" Khariya asked, leaning forward eagerly on her chair as Palpatine took the seat across the table from her.

"Ahh, child. You'll be doing much more than that," he answered. "Do you like the dress?" He gestured to the dress that Khariya had put on. She had found it on her bed that afternoon after going to the ports and put it on immediately.

"Gorgeous, Chancellor. You spoil me!" she laughed. "But to what occasion do I owe this beautiful dress?"

"Would you like to play more with the mice, kitty?" Palpatine asked. Khariya smiled, ferally, standing up and nodding.

"Which one do you want me to torture?" she asked.

"I'm afraid it won't be your sister but Anakin yet again..." Palpatine replied. Khariya pouted. As much as her hate towards Anakin had been fed through the months, the passion and hatred for Padmè, her sister, was nurtured to be far greater. "Just wait, my dear..." Palpatine said, reading her mind. "Her time will come... but I know you realize that in preying on our little Jedi that you will hurt Senator Naberrie as well? It's like killing two birds with one stone."

"But... I would so much rather haunt Amidala myself," Khariya whined.

"Though you have far surpassed many of my generals in your own sadistic way, Khariya..." Palpatine sighed. "You have so much yet to learn... though I'm surprised you don't know this lesson already... You should already know that the worst pain is the betrayal of the one whom you love and trust."

"I know..." she answered her eyes flashing. "And you're right... as usual... So where shall my mission be?"

"Three nights from now, in my apartment, I shall be throwing a small party for the senators present as of right now... Amidala shall be there... Most likely, Anakin shall be tagging along," Palpatine explained but he didn't need to say much else more.

"I know what to do already," she nodded and walked away. Chancellor Palpatine smiled proudly at the smart, beautiful and dangerous woman that walked out his door for he knew that it was mostly his patience that had honed her skills to be as cunning, subtle and precarious as they were.

What he took no notice of was Dooku's clenched fists and gritting jaw. The comment of that puny little child surpassing the Emperor's own generals was an insult onto himself. Setting his mind block but hiding it with careful skill from his Master, Dooku began to formulate his own plans to work FOR the Emperor... but against the overconfident child that was Dané Khariya Naberrie.

**AN--** So Khariya has returned... muahahaha.


	6. Hanging Between

**Chapter 06:**

"Anakin?" Padmè walked into her apartment, wondering if her husband had returned from the ports. It was only half past seven but she would never underestimate Anakin's ability to charm his way out of his more mundane duties. "Anakin, you home yet?"

She dropped the bags of food she had just bought on the kitchen counter and sighed, realizing that she'd be alone in this apartment for awhile. Taking out a fork to start on her dinner, she gathered her share of the food and went into the living room and there she began to feel just how…un-lived-in this apartment was.

There was a vidscreen that was never used. Her couches were barely broken in. She moved about too much, she realized… especially in the last year. Padmè's fork stilled for a moment. It never failed to make her shake inside and she wondered if she ever would get over missing Khariya. It would be the anniversary of her disappearance in three days. She knew that the reason she had remained so busy was because she didn't want to dwell on the past but she couldn't help it when so the one year mark. She felt like she immediately lost her appetite but growing bump in her stomach told her that she had to eat… and it also reminded her that she would need to retreat to Nairoet soon. Suddenly the phone rang and she put her food down to answer it.

Anakin speeded down the traffic, barely paying attention to the road above, below and in front of him. He wished that wishful thinking would just cease but it was futile to even begin to think that he'd ever stop thinking about what was then. As his speeder pulled into parking structure, he berated himself. He had a child coming… Two, if the Force hadn't tricked him. He smiled and began to climb the apartment buildings. It was his one source of pride and happiness. He hated that he had to hide it, but Anakin understood the circumstances and agreed with Padmè's decision to go to Naboo for the duration of pregnancy and a few months for maternal leave. He just wished he could be with her for that but his Jedi duties and his former master would definitely notice and be suspicious of his absence.

Anakin walked into Padmè's apartment, making sure not to bring notice to himself, if any other people possibly noticed his entering the senator's apartment. He closed the door just as he saw Padmè disconnect on the phone.

"Who was that?" Anakin asked, putting away his coat and kissing Padmè briefly before digging though the food.

"It was the Chancellor. He invited me to gathering at his apartment…" Padmè answered, taking up her food so that she could eat with Anakin in the kitchen.

"Thank the Maker, I don't have to do that kind of work… Those stupid political functions are just about as boring as guard shifts…" Anakin grumbled.

"Today was that boring?" Padmè laughed, leaning over the table.

Anakin froze. _No… it wasn't. I felt a presence I've missed for almost a year._

"I'd take that as a yes," Padmè grinned misinterpreting the look on her husband's face. "But anyway, the Chancellor has requested my presence as usual, and I'll be attending… as usual. I have to since I'm leaving soon. I have to talk with others before I leave for 'unreleased' reasons."

"Well, have fun…" Anakin said, laughing at her.

"I believe Palpatine mentioned something like all the Jedi were attending as well?" Padmè smiled, slyly.

"Oh no… I'm not. No one can make me. I'll fake an illness if I have to but I'm NOT going."

"I don't want to go, really…"

"When is it?" Anakin asked, rolling his eyes. Padmè hushed for a moment.

"In three nights?" Padmè replied.

"That's…"

"I know…" Anakin put his fork down and nudged the food towards Padmè who began to eat automatically.

"Padmè… I can't. Not on that night."

"It's not like I want to either! And, truthfully, Anakin, I'm the one that's been sacrificing and risking everything in this marriage. I think you should put yourself in a position that you don't like every now and then," Padmè snapped.

"And what was yesterday afternoon about? A standard issue checkup?" Anakin retorted, insulted that Padmè would even suggest that. "I risk a lot to be here with you and for our children. At least, you don't have a way of life to lose if we're ever exposed."

"That doesn't mean I have a lot to lose!" she yelled.

"And that doesn't mean, I'm not risking my skin everytime I'm with you!" Anakin shouted back. "And I'm not exactly happy about it either."

"Well, if you're so unhappy about it, then maybe you shouldn't have married me!"

"I wouldn't have married you in the first place if Khariya was here for me to marry instead!"

Padmè stepped back, hurt beyond all words.

"Damn it… I didn't mean that… I didn't… Please forgive me…" Anakin groaned. "I'm sorry." He immediately stepped up and wrapped his arms around his wife, remorseful for his words.

"I know it's true…" Padmè murmured, standing stiffly, not returning Anakin's embrace.

"No it's not," Anakin denied.

"Yes, it is… If she hadn't disappeared that day, you _know_ that you and I would not be together," Padmè shook her head and just looked down. "She'll always haunt us. She'll always be between us… We just have to suffer through that."

The silence afterwards was defeaning.

* * *


	7. Predictable Hero

**Chapter 7:**

The hangar was built eons ago, back when Coruscant was not a planet of skyscrapers. It was on the ground, mingling with heated rocks and rusted metals of olden times. Few ever went to that particular area of Coruscant in the first place and it was sure that nobody had been to the ground that it was built on.

"Perfect," Khariya murmured as her companions loaded the crates into spacecraft. She looked at the empty desolation around her and she knew that in an hour, two at the most, Anakin would come bursting into her trap. She would re-enter his life and if he were to act the way she expected him to, then the plan to infiltrate this boy's mind would go about without a flaw.

Khariya's cloak was snug around her, hiding the matty, thin and torn clothing she wore underneath. Her blood marked the clothing. There were rips that could only be made by a blade and it was made to look like she was wearing the cloth when the blade had torn it. Even her skin was marked with dirt and charcoal, red like the rocks of Geonosis. Her hair was oily and disheveled under the hood she wore over her head and her nails were worn away and encrusted with dirt. It was her costume.

"Its all packed and ready to go, milady." A man of large stature came up to her in a nondescript black clothing. In his hand was a long stick-like weapon, thick and capped by a long sharp blade. Khariya smiled and put down her hood and untied the cloak. She handed it to a female handmaiden that waited on her every whim. The servant knew her orders without being told. She bowed at her mistress and hurriedly boarded the craft without a word.

"What's your name?" Khariya asked.

"Arden Goeth, milady," the man said, proudly. Khariya smiled at him, knowing that he was well-trained and would follow every order. This was exactly what she needed.

"All right, Arden. You have one last order before you may leave."

"Consider whatever it might be done, milady."

"You look like a man that takes orders well. One that does not do them half-heartedly but does his best, his hardest at every task. Correct?" Khariya reached out for Arden's free hand and then tilted the spear up so that it hovered at her shoulder. She then enclosed Arden's free hand around the shaft of the spear so that he looked like it was about to attack.

"Correct, milady."

"Good, Arden. Because now, I want you to beat me…"

* * *

The black walls of the entertainment chambers of the Chancellor's suite reflected the light off the city and on the hundred something guests that attended the dinner party thrown by Palpatine. There was little to no real color in the room. Everyone was in the dark evening dresses and suits holding glasses of liquor and alcohol. Only the red carpet seemed to give the effect of the morbid décor of the room. 

Anakin felt like it had inadvertently suited the mood of his own private event. Though the gathering was suppose to be one of a cheery disposition, it came across like a funeral's wake. Dark and quiet, a murmur of whispers hovering just above the heads of the attendees. It suited Anakin just fine. He needed this solemnity on the year's anniversary of Khariya's death.

Padmè was trying her best to be talkative and as unsullen as she was feeling. She could feel Anakin become more restless as the night wore on and she was too. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be at peace with herself and her environment especially with life in her womb and she couldn't find that peace here. She felt herself become annoyed and agitated but she knew she couldn't slip away. She was a prominent senator who had duties, enjoyable and no. She couldn't step out into the gardens like Anakin was doing now…

Anakin held a drink in his hand. Non-alcoholic though. He knew that such drinks could dull the senses and he had no intention of wearing away at the training that fine tuned his abilities. He had gone exploring in the house-like suite and found a staircase in the shadows winding up to a patio. Palpatine lived on the highest building of that area of Coruscant and he lived on the top floors. The roof of the building served as his gardens, protected from the sound and lights of the city by height and by the sheer thickness of the glass dome that covered it.

Anakin breathed a sigh of relief as he breathed in the "fresh" air of the rooftop gardens. Artificial winds made the setting more natural than it was. The leaves of the trees rustled softly and the grass swayed to the breeze, reminding Anakin of Naboo. He could hear water somewhere close and he set out to look for its source. He came to a fountain made to look real with rocks, moss and a bubbling brook. Anakin set his drink down and laid himself down on the grass, his eyes closed and properly reminisced on the memories of Khariya.

_"Do you think there's such a thing as love at first sight?" Khariya asked. The island's jungles hid the couple lying down in the shade, hiding from the sun's brutal heat and eyes that could ruin their fantastic bubble. Khariya's chin rested on Anakin's chest as she was laying comfortably between his arm and body. Her hand played with his Padawan braid, her eyes looking at him questioningly._

_"__Love at first sight? No. Infatuation, lust or obsession? Yes." His answer was brief and succinct and Khariya frowned._

"_What if I think I fell in love with you at first sight?"_

"_I'd tell you that you were just infatuated since we were only ten at the time but," he added, when he felt her tense in his arms, "I think it can grow into love when you become infatuated with the right person."_

"_Since when did you become Mr. Wisdom-and-Philosophy?" Khariya laughed, playfully poking his chest. "I was just having the simple wondering that the mind does when you're relaxing and you made it into a life lesson."_

"_I grew up, Khariya. Life isn't simple wondering for me anymore. The life I lead calls for answers for all questions," Anakin said stiffly._

"_Anakin, I don't want you to be like this when we're alone together," Khariya whispered into his ear. She settled into his shoulder, sighing. Her hand moved to gently move up and down his neck._

"_What do you mean, my love?" Khariya suppressed a giggle at how he addressed her and continued._

"_I don't want you to be a Padawan or a Jedi or a bodyguard when you're with me. I want you to relax. Be yourself. You don't have to always be strong when you're with me. You don't have to always have an answer. It's okay for you be weak when we're alone because you never have to worry about me judging you. I am far from perfect and I would never expect that from you either." _

_Anakin opened his eyes and looked at the girl in his arms and smiled sincerely. "I really think I made the right choice in being in love with you."_

"_Glad I reaffirmed that choice then." Khariya grinned and kissed him softly and lay back down. "Now about this nap…"_

Anakin opened his eyes in the dark gardens watching the stars above. Few stars could outshine the brilliance of the city and the streaks of the crafts traveling through the sky was a distraction from nature's beauty. He could see the glow of the city beneath him and he could hear the dull hum of travelers, machines, and transports.

Suddenly, however, he _felt_ a silence. There was something that made his blood run cold and hot at the same time. He sat up and looked around feeling that he was still alone but a thread was tugging at his senses. There was something in this universe that felt like it was just added. It was a bit like a newborn's Force signature but weakened.

Something was crying, being beaten, then coldly thrown against the wall of a hangar. The pulse he felt was getting weaker and weaker, but he would know that presence even if it was only the faintest trace in the air. Hoping, praying that he wouldn't lose his ability to sense her wouldn't be lost like it was when he was Alteri, Anakin forgot about his drink and ran to the elevators, feeling the need to kill whatever it was that was hurting Khariya.


	8. Played With :new:

**Chapter 8:**

"Enough!" Khariya gasped as Arden was about to hit her with the shaft of the spear again. Her body genuinely ached and throbbed in pain. Blood was dripping out of her mouth and her insides felt like it was going to drain out of her. She put a hand up and the guard helped the woman up.

Arden Goeth was still unsure as to why this beautiful woman would want to be beat into the bloody pulp that she now was but he received his orders and he was proud that he followed them unflinchingly.

Khariya stood leaned against the wall, feeling the bruises on her ribs. She knew that she had more than a few bones broken and she allowed him to shallowly stab her shoulder, and cut her randomly. She couldn't help but smile. _The worse it is the better._

"Take the ship and go now," she ordered. Arden nodded. He was the last to board the craft and Khariya watched as it started to hover over the ground, its legs were retracting into their own respective niches. It hovered for a few more moments before its engines warmed and took off, leaving her bleeding on the ground.

Khariya wondered if she should have let Arden get so carried away in his beating as she limped towards the shadows. She would have to wait for Anakin in a bit of a dangerous condition.

_No matter,_ she thought.

* * *

Anakin felt her fading. He could barely remember how he got in his cruiser. He didn't remember how Obi Wan tried to run after him as he left. All he knew was that he was navigating the cruiser lower and lower into the recesses of the city. He found the old abandoned warehouses and factories and with Khariya's presence slowly fading away he only barely made it to the right one before it was so faint that he needed to refocus his energies on it every minute or so. 

On her side, Khariya was wondering whether or not to kill Arden. She had wanted to be beaten badly but not killed. Now she knew that she had let him go on too long.

_Anakin better get here soon or my plans will be very anticlimactic since I'll be dead, _she grumbled. Only then did Khariya hear the loud creak of the metal doors. She gave herself one last eager smile before letting her body faint in pain.

Anakin forgot to be wary of his surroundings. He just wanted to get to Khariya. He barged in gripping his weapon as he went. His eyes took a moment to adjust and he took it as a moment to refocus on Khariya. She was so weak but so near. He felt like he could almost touch her and the prospect of it made him delirious.

He opened his eyes again and saw a body in heap on the floor. He ran to it falling to his knees.

"Khariya?"

His voice broke and he hesitated. He couldn't help but chuckle that at the very first moment he was with her, she could still make him do something that he wouldn't normally do: hesitate and be afraid. Anakin didn't want this vision to disappear. He wanted to reach out and carry her to the nearest medical station but he was afraid that what he saw would just be a desperate illusion. He took a hard swallow and he reached out to her.

Khariya didn't move. Her breathing was shallow and her skin looked like it was bursting at the seams with blood. His hand slipped the rough cloth over her shoulder and saw the cut seething angrily.

He cursed under his breath and tried to clear his mind. He needed to Force heal just a bit of the damage, just enough so that he could bring her to a medical station or better yet to the Jedi Healers at the Temple. The more he tried to meditate on her wounds however, the more he realized that something was stopping his intrusion. That's when he felt it. She was covered in the Dark force… It came out of her every pore and his eyes shot wide open at the realization.

"What did they do to you, Khari?" he murmured. Anakin took Khariya up in his arms and placed her gently in the back of his cruiser. He stared at her, his breath shallow from excitement and fear that he'd lose her to whatever it was that did this to her so he took a moment to collect himself.

"I can't take you to the Temple," Anakin murmured. He looked at her frail body and furrowed his brow in the decision. "You're… They'll take you away. They'll think you're Sith in your condition… And Padmé will know about you." He quickly took off the robes that marked him as a Jedi and put on a jacket stowed away in the cruiser's trunk. Without another word, he sped up to the high tops of Galactic City and drove haphazardly through the layers to get to the best Coruscanti hospital.

Anakin didn't quite understand his need to keep her from everyone. Somewhere in his mind, Anakin knew that if he told Obi Wan that though he would try to make him reveal Khariya, he wouldn't go behind his back and do it himself. In fact, he'd help with Khariya until she was better. Padmé would need to know about her sister being alive as well but, as his eyes stole a glance at her unconscious body, he felt a wave of selfishness.

_No… She stays with me and with me alone._

* * *

"Can I take her home?" Anakin asked the medic droid who was sealing the wound. 

"Patient Skywalker has not yet even regained consciousness," the droid said simply. "She should stay with us until further assessment of neurological injury has been done." The droid finished the seal and Anakin put a hand on the mechanical arm.

"I need to take her home with me."

"My opinion tells me that there is still more to be done for her. I cannot—"

"I'm taking her home," Anakin repeated, pushing the droid away.

"We really shouldn't allow you to do so," a voice said behind him. Anakin turned away from the droid and saw an old woman standing at the doorway. Anakin smiled inwardly. If it were another droid, then he'd be fighting endlessly but since it was a sentient human, a little 'whisper' ought to get them out within seconds.

"We are all right to be discharged," he murmured to the woman, but she laughed.

"Skywalker. I knew the patient's name to be familiar. A Jedi then?" she chuckled.

"And one of strong mind," Anakin rolled his eyes and muttered to himself. "I should have just done it myself."

"Dané Skywalker," the woman murmured, reading the chart. Anakin had given her his name. He didn't know which else to give and the Naberrie name was too well-known. It was only after he heard the name come from his lips to the droid did he realize what the name implied… not that he was too fussed about it. "Multiple puncture wounds; costal fractures; contusions on 54 of her body. Somehow, her internal organs remain intact. A bit bruised maybe but we've treated it enough so it's not fatal… as it was clearly meant to be."

"Don't think that I had anything to do with it," Anakin growled. "I would _never_ hurt her."

"I'm not implying anything. I was just wondering why a Jedi would be coming here instead of their own healers," the woman replied.

"Can we please just go?" Anakin groaned, taking Khariya's hand in his. The woman looked at Anakin for a moment before reaching into her bell-sleeves and retrieving a leather pouch.

"Give her these twice a day until she can sit up without too much pain," the healer said. "It should last you."

Anakin grabbed at the pouch without hesitation. "Thank you." He pocketed the medicine and began to pick up Khariya. "Time to go home, princess," he groaned as her weight fell on him.

* * *

"… And the medicine was given?" Palpatine asked Arose. The woman nodded her head as Palpatine walked her to her station. "And the state of Khariya?" 

"Worse than we thought. She let herself be beaten into quite a state, my Lord," Arose answered.

"Her pain is virtually an artform." He looked at the scans of Khariya's body and smiled. "I would be very much mistaken if I were to say that whichever sentry was allowed to beat her would be killed for taking 'too much liberty' in doing so."

"But didn't she order him to do it?" Arose frowned.

"Do you think it matters?" he laughed. He threw the scans into the burner. "The droid has been taken care of?"

"Its memory drives have been completely replaced, your excellency. And the security tapes have been eradicated."

"Good." Palpatine grinned a toothy smile. "If Khariya is successful then everything will go according to plan."

* * *

**AN**I'm not even going to say anything. just "surprise! I'm still alive!" XD And so it's bit... short... It's actual progress!... 


End file.
